snow roll

this last weekend i joined a group of rollerbladers who go on "roller hikes" every few weeks during the summer. pg's parents were going (although pg wasn't interested), and they picked me up from my cousin's kibbutz along the way.

travelling with her parents was an experience: not only did it take me back to being a kid dragged along for the ride, totally focused on playing games on my iphone being the equivalent of being stuck into my gameboy back in those days - only every now and again raising my head to look out the window - but driving with them taught me a heck of a lot about pg. we had a good laugh when i eventually got home to tell her about it :)

the trip consisted of two parts: rollerblading on friday evening, and an actual hike on saturday afternoon, with camping and a barbeque in between.

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the rollerblading:
the route was amazing - 40km that almost entirely consisted of downhills. steep downhills. windy* downhills. on roads that, aside from occassional stretches of "snakes" (rubber filler that can catch your wheels and throw you head-first into the asphalt), are well-constructed and smoothly paved.

* meaning both winding roads and being blasted by strong winds

it's not quite like snow, but it's pretty damned close. unless, of course, you fall.

the first incident occurred when we passed a herd of cows. the first group to pass startled them, and they began to run along the road... but as we (the second group) approached, some of them panicked and ran straight across our paths. in a match-up of a rollerblader versus a cow, it's not difficult to guess who's going to come out on top. we were terrified, and i stared helplessly at each one i passed in the hope that that wasn't the moment that it would thrust itself in my direction with explosive force.

i was a bit shaky after that, and the next downhill was a little longer and a little steeper than i'm used to. by the end of the route i'd find it laughable, but at the time i tried to keep my pace "reasonable". i was coasting behind a guy attempting to use "wings" to slow himself down (to little effect), and just after i passed him i was treated to the sight of the girl in front of me wobbling... then sliding... and then losing her balance completely, flipping sideways and landing solidly on her head before rolling to a stop. i "slammed on the brakes" (a combination of snow-plough and t-stop), watching her for any sign of life and seeing none.

at least by the time i got back up the hill to where she lay i could hear her moaning, and within a minute there were six or seven of us trying to sort her out before loading her into the escort vehicle. she had a nasty gash near the top of her head - she hadn't been wearing a helmet - and when i continued on i was feeling a lot less sure of myself.

what a crap way to begin the route! she barely got to enjoy the beginning... although considering what the rest of it was like, perhaps that's a good thing.

the roads got steeper and steeper, our speeds faster and faster; later, we would discover that we'd been averaging between 50 and 70 kph, which on rollerblades is pretty intense. it *felt* like we were on snow, that rush of high-speed and less-than-perfect control, and it would take me about half the route to understand three important things:

1. real downhills demand commitment. you either do, or you don't. slalom isn't really an option.

2. on lesser hills, crouching forward is a technique to increase your speed. on steeper ones, it's absolutely crucial for maintaining stability.

3. just at that moment where you're flying across the asphalt, barely keeping it together and contemplating the value of your life that you see passing before your eyes, your ego is completely vulnerable to watching your potential mother-in-law coasting past you and looking quite at ease.

pg's mother is one tough cookie.

the last downhill was the craziest, and twice i braved t-stopping because i wasn't certain i could handle the bends. those two attempts to slow down were enough to shave my wheels down to their core.

...

in the final analysis: it was beautiful, it was terrifying, and it's something we really should be doing every week or two!

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the camping and the barbeque:

the group's not really that interesting, with the topics of conversation by and large being stuck on the trivial. also, there weren't a lot of vegetarian options. so i ate meat, because if it's already bought there's no point in letting it go to waste.

after a horrible night (it was too hot in the tents!) and a stupidly-slow morning (my brain felt melted), we struck camp and went out for a 3km hike with a swimming break in the middle.

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the "actual" hike:

there was an awkward moment before we set out in which one of the girls boldly stepped up to me and wiped sun-cream that had been disloged by sweat from my chin. i'm very glad that i managed to express the inappropriateness of the action without having to speak, and she apologized and made herself scarce. see, i want to live in a world in which we can all be that intimate with each other without it being a sexual thing, or even in which it being a sexual thing doesn't negatively affect one's other relationships, but we don't. it was a moment that should've meant nothing and instead caused tension :(

overall, it was a fun hike. it was really, really hot though, and the only relief was the natural pool which was a nightmare of hot stones to get out of. the hike ended on a positive note, with pg's father throwing me the keys to his car (woot! i'm finally out of the dog box!) to fetch ice-creams, followed by a long drive home consumed by angry birds.